Puppet Masters relied on Puppet Cores to control their puppets.
Through these cores, commands were received and relayed to various restriction nodes, or mechanical triggers were activated, allowing the puppets to walk, bow, and turn with lifelike dexterity, perform extraordinarily complex movements, and even unleash divine abilities.
Without restrictions imposed on it, a puppet had no owner. Anyone versed in the Mechanism-Performance Method could control it with the appropriate technique.
But even Puppet Cores still in the workshop, awaiting sale, would have temporary restrictions set according to the needs of the parties involved, preventing them from being stolen.
There was only one possible explanation for something left so completely unguarded: its owner had deliberately made it so.
Using the standby spirit essence automatically collected by the puppet's Spirit Pump, Li Chen restarted the core and examined it carefully.
"It's an Armored Warrior Puppet commonly found on the market, but someone seems to have reset it. Its original instruction set and secret commands have all been wiped clean."
Li Chen thought for a moment, then extended his palm toward the puppet. With a slight movement of his fingers, its forehead suddenly opened, exposing the Puppet Core inside.
It was roughly the size of an ordinary person's fist, a many-faceted sphere of dark red, translucent crystalline material. Restrictions seemed to be inscribed on its surface, and faint traces of spirit mercury stains were still visible.
After a brief inspection confirmed that it was intact and capable of performing a normal puppet's functions, Li Chen removed it and held it in his hand. Once again, he enveloped it in magic power and immersed his spiritual sense within it, burning in his own exclusive rune-script programs and instruction sets.
Over the past decade and more, Li Chen had followed the cultivation methods of this